The Ultimate Dream Computer

Hello all,

I have been working on these selections for the past couple of weks and was wanting to get some suggestions on how it would do. Any help would be appreciated. Also I think I posted this in the wrong thread originally so mods feel free to delete whichever one is in the wrong spot. I have watched pc beign built and know a fair amount about pc's but this will be my first personal build so I am a little nervous and want to get everything right.

MOBO - EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188013

POWER SUPPLY - Silverstone ST1000 ATX12v/EPS12v 1000w http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817256020

MEMORY - CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145043

CASE - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133154

HDD - main operating drive - WD Raptor X 150Gb 10,000rpm 16mb cache serial ata150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136035

SOUNDCARD - Creative 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102005

SPEAKERS - Creative GigaWorks S750 700 Watts 7.1 Speaker http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836116142

CD/DVD DRIVE/BURNER - LITE-ON LightScribe Black 20X DVD±R Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write Black IDE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106045

KEYBOARD - logitech G15 gaming keyboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823126179

MOUSE - logitech G7 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826104203

MOUSEPAD - steelpad 5L http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817114706

WEBCAM - Logitech QuickCam Fusion 1.3MP http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16830108129

MONITOR - SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824001096

FLOPPY -SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16821103116

SURGE STRIP - CyberPower 880 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812120404

UPS - powercom King Pro KIN-2200AP 2200VA 1320 W 6 (best I can afford right now) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16842106116

HEADPHONES - SENNHEISER PC 150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826106346

CPU - E6850 Conroe 3gh 1333mh 4mb dual core when it comes out should be around $300 I think.

VIDEO CARD - EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130072

HARD DRIVES - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000KSRTL 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822136040

CPU FAN - ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16835118223

MEMORY FAN - http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16835704001

 

I've got the same motherboard and have nothing but good things to say about it.
I'd get a SATA DVD burner instead of the IDE one you have listed.

Are you going to overclock?
The current quad cores run hot as hell, maybe the new ones won't. I like the Zalman and I have one on an E6700, but for a quad I'd go with the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme. It will fit the EVGA board and clear the chipset cooler. Add a 1600 RPM Scythe fan to it for about the best air cooling you can get.
You power supply is overkill for one 8800GTX video card. Awesome none the less. I use an Enermax Galaxy 850W with two 8800GTS in SLI.

For me, I'd skip the webcam, downgrade the keyboard, headphones, monitor and get another GTX video card. I'd also have just two WD150 Raptors. If you really need another HDD then you could add it later. That's just me though. I go for the performance first and then add other stuff later.

BTW all your Newegg links seem to be broken. You may have to re-copy/paste them in again from Newegg product pages. Kinda like you copy/pasted them from your first post... Which broke them.

 

Sorry about the links here is an updated list. FASFRANK, I do eventually plan to overclock but I want to get the building down firsst. I think(from what I can tell) that this system i have chosen is very high end so even without overclocking it should last me awhile. But after the overclocking it should last even longer. For now the E6850 coming out will do me, its not quad core but from what I have heard not many things use that potential so the dual core E6850 has good speed for a good price.


CASE - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case w/ 25CM Fan - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811133021

SURGE PROTECTOR - CyberPower 880 8 feet 4 Transformer Spaced 4 Non-Transformer Spaced Outlets 2800 Joules Power Surge Protector - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16812120404

MOBO - ABIT IN9 32X-MAX LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127020

VIDEO CARD X2 - EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130072

PAD - SteelPad 5L 20030 Mouse Pad - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817114706

PSU - SILVERSTONE ST1000 ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817256020

CPU - E6850 Conroe 3gh 1333mh 4mb dual core when it comes out should be around $300 I think

MEMORY X2 - CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-8500C5D - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145043

FLOPPY - SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16821103116

MAIN HD - Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFDRTL 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136035

STORAGE HD X3- Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000KSRTL 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136040

KEYBOARD - Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16823126179

MONITOR - SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824001096

MOUSE - Logitech G7 Black 6 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB RF Wireless Laser Mouse - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16826104203

HEADSET - SENNHEISER PC 150 2 x 3.5mm Connector Circumaural Headset - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16826106346

CD/DVD - LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106057

SOUND CARD - Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16829102005

WEBCAM - Logitech 961403-0403 QuickCam Fusion 1.3MP Effective Pixels USB Interface WebCam - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16830108129

CPU COOLER - ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835118223

MEMORY FAN - CORSAIR CMXAF1 Fans - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835704001

SPEAKERS - Creative GigaWorks S750 700 Watts 7.1 Speaker - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16836116142

UPS - powercom King Pro KIN-2200AP 2200VA 1320 W UPS - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16842106116

OK, this I believe is my final selection. Unless there are more suggestions i think this is everything and everything should work together. Depending on the deals I can find it should cost roughly $5000-$6000. Once I get teh overclocking down I should not have to upgrade for long time. Thanks for the help and keep the suggestions coming if you have any more. Iam still about a month away or so from buying everything.

 

everything looks good on your "final" list with the exception of your change in mobos...i would def. suggest you stick w/ the eVGA (i believe fasfrank got it after my suggestion, i've had it since it was first introduced on the market- older AR revision, which i RMA'd for the A1 version due to me getting a quad-core Q6600)

anyways, i don't know what made you change your mind on the eVGA, but i can tell you right now it's far more "mature" in terms of BIOS revisions and familiarity among enthusiasts than that Abit mobo...not saying that the Abit isn't any good, i'm sure it's quite good, i was actually going to try it about a month ago before i decided against it to build my server PC.

everything else, even the Silverstone 1000w monster (something I would go for myself, i've used the Zeus (SST-ST85ZF) 850 Watt model before and it was fantastic in terms of stability and power range.)

i've already got 2x 8800gtx in SLI like you plan on doing, if going stock, it DOES get quite warm so make sure your choice in cases is well ventilated and has sufficient space/room to install properly. THermaltake Armor series definitely fits the bill

in terms of cpu, if the price is around $300 as purported, i will pick one up myself (E6850), only reason for me doing so is to test out the 1333mhz bus advantage, the stock cpu speed starts at a nice even/round number which is nice, but given my affinity to overclock anything i get my hands on, i will try for a stable 4.0ghz 24/7 daily running machine once it's available. if it's priced as you suggested, that would make a terrific processor to base your new build around, overclocked or not, it's already "up there" in terms of speed for a decent price ($300-$350 is fair, anything more i would opt for a lower less expensive E6x50 model chip and OC the hell outta it, using the 1333mhz bus of course)

all in all, your build on paper sounds very good and it's very close to my current dual core build (C2D machine) spec wise, once completed, you will have yourself a MONSTER of a machine, both in bragging rights AND in the real world performance sector. good luck

docTY

 

I too agree you should go with the EVGA over ABit. I also heard that Abit are in financial issues?

 

Hi senseitx,

I really like the 680i Evga board. Thanks Doc!!
It's been easy to overclock and their tech support is the best. As near as I can tell, Abit's tech support is abysmal.
The choice for overclocking is the Evga board. Also, you listed the 8800GTX cards from Evga. Why not the Evga mobo?
EVGA includes a chipset fan. If you do get the Evga board, get a #0 phillips screwdriver to install the fan.

I disagree somewhat with your choice of the Zalman cooler.
Using 60°C max load temp as a limit, I can overclock the Thermalright cooled E6700 to 3.7 GHz.
The Zalman cooled E6700 gets to 3.6 GHz.

I would add another WD150 but that's just a how I like my HDDs configured.

I didn't see an OS listed so don't forget that!

Don't forget to get some Arctic Silver Thermal compound for your heatsink. The Zalman comes with it's own compound. I don't use it. I ordered the cleaner and surface prep liquids as well as AS Ceramique. Go to the Arctic Silver website for application instructions. It works.

Two big 8800 GTX video cards. Awesome! The sound card has to fit in with them so it will restrict airflow somewhat. Something to keep in mind.



I'll just ditto what Doc said about the performance potential for your build. You will have a lot of fun building this thing and bringing it to life.

You have time before the parts arrive to download manuals and get your tools and work area ready.
For tools, you don't need much. Here's what I like to have.
Misc:
A big trash bag for shipping debris.
A folder to save rebate bar codes and related rebate stuff.
A big soft towel to lay my new case on. No scratches allowed!

I have an area in my shop devoted to PC building. I have shelving for all the new parts, a nice flat, clean workbench and excellent lighting.

Tools:
A knife to open all the packaging.

A ratcheting magnetic screwdriver for mobo, case and power supply screws.

A 12" long #2 Phillips for heatsink mounting screws and some of the motherboard screws. I can get a straight shot and it keeps my knukles away from the fins. I magnetise it by rubbing it against the other screwdriver.

A #0 Phillips screwdriver for EVGA chipset fan screws.

A 5mm socket with a speeder handle to install the motherboard stand-offs in the case.

Small diagonal side cutters for trimming zip ties.

A surgical clamp to grab jumpers and small connectors with. Skinny needle nose pliers work as well. My hands are kinda big so this helps.

I ought to have an Anti-static wrist band but I don't. I just make sure I'm touching metal, like the case, before handling boards.

A small flashlight to find anything I drop and to check that connectors are installed correctly.


I'm looking forward to another major build in September or October. EVGA has the Black Pearl 680i board as well as Black Pearl 8800 GTX cards which with a new Quad core will make an awesome build.

Good luck,
Frank

 

All right I have settled on the
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813188013
Since I have the evga geforces i think that will be a good match. Also a few odds and ends

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835100007

BELKIN F8E066 Professional Computer Tool Kit (36-Piece) - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16899888202

BELKIN F8E093 Anti-Static Wrist Strap - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16899888207

Will DX10 work with xp? if not then I am stuck going with vista. Thanks fasfrank for your list of supplies. Now that I pretty much have my list down that stuff is what iam thinking about next. How to get ready and what I will need to complete the tasks. According to newegg the total comes to 5235.00. While the price is up there I dont plan on upgrading for awhile. I know it is next to impossible to estimate nut I will ask anyways. How long do you think this pc will last? I plan to mainly run games and do some video editing. I am thinking 2-3 years before the games start to really push the limits. One more question, as you can see I have mainly looked at newegg. I know newegg to be apretty good site but if i price shop I amy get the price down anywhere from 250-1000 dollars(I can only hope). which would be better, shopping from one site but maybe paying a little more or shopping from many different sites, while maybe cheaper, might prove to be a headache from keeping what I bought from where straight, quality of products, shipping time. etc.

 

DX10 games won't work with Vista, but there aren't any DX10 games yet (Shadowrun and Halo 2 only use DX9) so I wouldn't worry about it.

 

The tool kit already has an anti-static wrist band. Don't forget to pick up a #0 Phillips screwdriver somewhere. That chipset fan has really small screws.
Here they are on a towel.

 

Edit: double post

 

yeah I've seen screws like that, the old motherboard I had used plastic lugs to secure the heatsink. it was the same size, if not smaller than the southbridge heatsink they added to the P5N-E.

 

Thanks for telling me about the tool set having a static band. i didn't see it on the picture.

 

Yor're welcome.
FYI, I saw the E6850 over at Overclockers UK. They are taking pre-orders. I'm thinking that the prices should come down once a few more retailers start selling these. With shipping this one is about $365.00.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-156-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=793

 

That's VERY cheap for a top end CPU.

 

From what I've read, the proce should drop even more...



I hope that is accurate pricing.

Also Xbit labs has tested and overclocked the E6850, E6750 and the E6550:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/print/core2duo-e6850.html

 

fasfrank
It's always the fine print that gets you ... £199.74 inc VAT. ( http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-156-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=793 ) That comes to about 405.23 USD. The VAT added about 60 USD at a single clip. It would have been a nicer price before the VAT was added.

 

It would have been a nicer price in the US too, regardless of tax.
A £399 product here typically costs $499-$599 in the US. The exchange rate dictates it should be $790.

 

Are you figuring costs before or after VAT has been added? We've gone over it before, maybe not here, but there's more to the cost of items besides just the currency exchange rate, i.e. initial cost of item for different markets, transport costs, dealer markup, and all associated taxes. MSRP is only a guideline and not always the same in different markets. Many items I've seen higher or lower depending on availability and/or the retailer's desire to make a quick sale, along with the other factors mentioned.

 

That's exactly it, all the costs you mentioned mean that our stuff is far more expensive than in the US.

 

I think we all have what we call our dream computer but thing is it changes so quick as you go and buy dual core next thing you know quad core is here.You will never get your true dream computer if your a computer fanatic as your always waiting for the next thing around the corner.On the ATI, NVIDIA front i have had plenty of both and i personally favour NVIDIA but that is just a personal preference.